In just two short seasons, Richard "Doc" Ludemann has engineered a remarkable turnaround, turning the Sacred Heart women's swimming team into a perennial Northeast Conference contender.
Last season was a historic year for SHU swimming. Under the direction of Ludemann, the Pioneers set 22 school records and for the first time ever, qualified swimmers for the ECAC Championships. The Pioneers fourth place finish at the Northeast Conference was the best in school history.
Ludemann has over 30 years of experience in coaching aquatic sports. He began his career in 1975 as the assistant coach of the Wilton YMCA swimming team, the Wilton Wahoos.
After a four year stint in Wilton, Ludemann moved out west to become the assistant swimming coach at UCLA. In spending four years as a coach for the Bruins, he coached a team that was an NCAA Runner-up and 7 swimmers who were part of the 1980 United States Olympic swimming team.
In 1981, Ludemann returned to Connecticut and became an assistant coach for the Yale Univeristy men's and women's swimming teams. In that role he was the chief advisor to the Bulldogs group of sprinters and medley swimmers. After three seasons at Yale, Ludemann moved on to the high school ranks as the head swimming coach at Stamford High School.
Beginning in 1987 Ludemann took over as the head coach at the New Cannan Aquatic Club. In his nine years, he coached eight men's state champion teams and four women's teams who were state runner-ups.
In addition to his swimming experience, Ludemann has been involved with the sports of water polo for the last 20 years. From 1988-92 he was the conditioning coach for the Canadian Water Polo squad. He then served as the training and condition coach for the United States water polo team from 1992-96.